Born Reckless

Mamie has about five good Country song and dance numbers while worrying about her man, Kelly Cobb, a rodeo champ who has been drawn into the clutches of another woman (Carol Ohmart) Bland and polished with the big studio budget as they come. It's curious why an A grade studio like Warner Brothers decided to run with such a slim B grade rodeo opera. Without James Dean, they were no doubt trying to repeat Fox's success with Marilyn Monroe. Nice rodeo riding tricks help pad the time of a predictable show with a rather tame story book ending. One rock n roll number might have you laughing quite a lot..

I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining Born Reckless was. The on screen chemistry between lead actor Jeff Richards and Mamie Van Doren was obvious. The film reminded me a bit of the earlier 1956 film Bus Stop which also starred three main characters being the sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, and the veteran actor Arthur O'Connell. In Born Reckless the resemblance of the three main stars being Jeff Richards, Mamie Van Doren and veteran actor Arthur Hunnicutt to the earlier successful film Bus Stop was no mere coincidence.

Mamie Van Doren was not only nice eye candy to watch but she could really sing and she showed us how good her singing lungs actually were by singing several entertaining numbers throughout this romantic musical. There certainly was a lot of teasing going on between Jeff Richards and Mamie Van Doren but we can all relate to our significant others appearing jealous from time to time now can't we?

Jeff Richards is a rodeo star named Kelly Cobb trying to make just enough stake money to settle down and purchase his own ranch and raise cattle but Mamie Van Doren who plays Jackie Adams one of Kelly's love interests is worried that Kelly will stay in the rodeo game too long and end up a cripple as other rodeo stars had not known when enough was enough.

This is a fun movie that is well acted, with some entertaining tunes, and of course with Mamie Van Doren being the one belting out the hit songs, who wouldn't enjoy this film? I give it a 7 out of 10 IMDB rating. I will be looking to watch it again on TCM sometime soon too!

Mamie Van Doren often played bad girls in 1950s films such as "High School Confidential" and "Guns Girls and Gangsters". However, in a strange twist, here she plays a nice girl....something that just seemed weird!

When the story begins, Jackie (Van Doren) is being sexually assaulted by a jerk following a rodeo. Rodeo star Kelly Cobb (Jeff Richards) sees what's occurring and belts the guy...and soon a giant fight breaks out. Kelly, Jackie and Kelly's partner, Cool Man (Arthur Hunnicutt) make their escape and soon the trio are friends and they travel together to other rodeos. However, over time, Jackie is frustrated as she's a nice (and sexy) girl and Kelly chases after a different lady. What's next?

The acting and dialog are pretty silly in this one. My daughter hated it, but I felt it was a watchable time-passer....though seeing Van Doren in such a role seemed silly as did her many (too many) musical numbers. For Van Doren fans mostly.

A typical rodeo film. fistfights, bronc riding. ten gallon hats. Stars mamie Van Doren and Jeff Richards. Van Doren has a VERY interesting bio on imdb, if you have a couple minutes... makes for a fun read. pretty x-rated. Richards had a much quieter life; had started as a baseball player, but moved into acting after getting an injury. Some songs sung in the nightclubs. maybe some of them were actually sung by VanDoren. Arthur Hunnicutt is the sidekick. Hunnicutt was oscar nominated for Big Sky... always played the western character, and usually with the big beard. When Kelly (Richards) meets interloper Liz (Carol Ohmart), things get tense. Will that put an end to Jackie? (VanDoren) This Warner Brothers film has many similarities to UA's The Misfits (Gable, Monroe), but Reckless was first! Misfits would come a couple years later, with bigger stars, but the stories are almost the same. Reckless written by Richard Landau... had started out by writing short documentaries; worked up to films and then television series. little bits and pieces of various shows. Directed by Howard Koch; had some pretty big achievments in his life: was president of the Academy, was head of production at Paramount Studios, and was VP of Sinatra Enterprises. not a bad life!

Shapely saloon singer Mamie Van Doren (as Jackie Adams) is ogled by many man. After a performance, she is assaulted by a particularly amorous admirer. Handsome rodeo rider Jeff Richards (as Kelly Cobb) saves Ms. Van Doren. She partners up with Mr. Richards and his companion, Arthur Hunnicutt (as "Cool Man"), on the rodeo circuit. Although Richards seems more interested in other women, like Carol Ohmart (as Liz), he and Van Doren become attracted. Van Doren continues to arouse other men with her full, tightly-attired figure and platinum blonde looks. Seeing whether or not they can work it out and settle down is not very exciting.

**** Born Reckless (11/58) Howard W. Koch ~ Mamie Van Doren, Jeff Richards, Arthur Hunnicutt, Tom Duggan